Dani pressed her molars together.
“I didn’t know you.”
“You knew I was deciding whether to trust you professionally.”
“Yes.”
“That should have made the answer more important.”
The agreement lay between us, every rule suddenly less abstract.
“I know.”
“Did you think I would request another trainer?”
“Yes.”
“Would that have been unreasonable?”
“No.”
Her answer surprised me. Dani looked down at the agreement between us.
“I should have told you,” she said. “I told myself my personal result didn’t change whether I could coach you. That part is true. But I also knew you heard my answer the way I wanted you to hear it.”
Tessa went very quiet. Rose did not look surprised. Dani continued.
“I’m sorry.”
I watched her. The apology was not strategic. She was not asking me to make it easier. That mattered. It did not erase the omission. That mattered too.
“Are there other facts about your professional experience that you are allowing me to misunderstand?”
“No.”
Dani answered quickly. Rose’s attention shifted toward her. A small movement. I noticed.
“What?” I asked.
Rose angled her folder toward Dani.
“That question is for Dani.”
Dani’s face had changed. Not enough for Tessa to see. Enough for me.
“You said you got sick,” I said. “Is that accurate?”
“Yes.”
“Is it complete?”
A pause.
“No.”
The room seemed to contract. Dani folded her hands on the table hard enough that the knuckles changed color.
“The first race involved a medical event I am not ready to describe,” she said. “It still affects me around parts of the Lake City course. It does not make my coaching unsafe. Rose can confirm that.”
